A Sudden Chill
by Lunar Xerneas
Summary: Winter can be a lot of fun, with many activities to share with your friends. However, as much fun as winter can be, it can also put your life on the line.
1. Chapter 1

**EDIT 2/17/17: Fixed some grammatical errors.**

* * *

Today was a chilly winter day in Dreamland. A light flurry was falling slowly from the cloudy sky, floating down to the already snow-covered ground below.

While heavy snowing in this area of Dreamland was rare, it wasn't unheard of. This year in particular was a lot colder than others, the snow heavier and the heating bills were of course getting higher as well.

Today in particular, since the weather cleared up for the most part, the kids decided it was a perfect day to play outside and enjoy the snow.

"Make sure to keep your mittens on at all times, Bun!"

"I know, mom!" Said boy replied, slipping his mittens onto his hands. It's been a long time since he was able to play in the snow! He and his friends would come up with all sorts of games to play! Building forts? Snowball fights? Sledding? It all sounded great!

Fumu, Bun's older sister, walked in from her bedroom, zipping up her pink and green coat. "You ready to go, Bun?"

"Yeah! Just gotta get my hat on…"

"Be safe, you two!" The children's mother, Memu, called from the kitchen.

"We will!" Fumu replied, following her brother out the door.

"Ooh, this is gonna be great! We're gonna make snow forts, have snowball fights, and-"

"Bun, remember, when we have Kirby with us, you and your friends need to play nice, and don't be so rough on him. He's just a baby, after all."

"Yeah, yeah…" Bun mumbled, walking down the halls of Castle Dedede. "We'll play nice… or at least try to."

"Bun!"

"Okay, I get it! Always play nice with Kirby, I know!"

The blonde glowered at her brother. "Good. I don't want Kirby catching a cold or anything."

"Does Kirby even get sick?"

"Of course he does! He's gotten the flu before, don't you remember?"

"No."

The blonde sighed heavily and crossed her arms as they exited the castle and into the frigid outdoors. "Never mind. Let's hurry up so Kirby doesn't wait too long."

"Alright, alright," Bun smiled a bit, reaching up and relaxing his hands on the back of his head. "At least Kirby isn't one to sleep in, I want to go play in the snow as soon as possible! He's probably waiting for us right now!"

The trip to Kirby's dome house was uneventful; the two siblings took a bit of time in taking in the peaceful winter scenery. Just as Bun said, Kirby was waiting outside, a bright smile appearing on his face as his best friends came up the hill.

"Poyo!" The child cried out in joy, hopping over to Fumu and Bun enthusiastically. He wasn't wearing any winter gear outside of a pale blue scarf that was messily wrapped around the lower half of his small, round body.

"Hello, Kirby!" Fumu greeted, smiling and patting him on the head. "How are you doing?"

"Poyo!" Kirby beamed at the girl, his azure eyes bright with excitement. He looked very eager to play, even more than Bun was. "Poyo poyo!"

"Are you ready for the snowball war of a lifetime, Kirby?" Bun grinned deviously, clasping his hands together. "It's gonna be great!"

"And _safe,"_ Fumu added, giving her brother a look.

"Yeah yeah, _safe."_ Bun most likely rolled his eyes underneath his hair. "Let's go meet Iro, Hohhe and Honey at the pond like we had planned!"

"Poyo!" Kirby agreed, hopping up and down excitedly. In the couple years he had been living here in Dreamland, he hadn't seen snow all that often, so it really excited the child to play in it!

As the trio made their way down the hill and towards the pond, Bun explained what they would do for their so-called 'snowball war', saying they'd pile up snow for their forts using the sand buckets that Honey was bringing, and make a ton of snowballs beforehand before throwing them at each other until one team gave up.

"Who's gonna be on what team, though?" Fumu asked, still a little wary about the idea of Kirby participating in such an event.

"Well we assumed you and Kirby would want to be on the same team, so we'll have you two on the same team…"

"There's gonna be six of us, so three in each team would work."

"Yeah. I want to be on the opposite team as you and Kirby, so Hohhe, Honey or Iro will have to be on your team as well." Bun put a finger to his chin in thought. "Honey is always clinging to Iro, so I think they'll be with me, and Hohhe will be on your team."

"Okay…" Fumu sighed softly, looking down at Kirby with a faint smile. "What do you think, Kirby?"

The child grinned, cooing in agreement. "Poyo!"

"Alright, we'll let them know when we get there. There they are over there!" Bun grinned and waved at his friends, who were off in the distance waving back.

Hohhe smiled at the trio as they arrived at their location, giving Bun a nod. "Hello, guys! You ready for the fun of a lifetime?" He asked eagerly.

"I sure am! Kirby's ready, too; right, Kirby?" Bun looked over at Kirby, who hopped in excitement.

"Poyo!"

"Great! So, who's gonna be on what team?"

"I was thinking that I would be with Honey and Iro, while you be with Fumu and Kirby."

Hohhe nodded, humming in thought. "That sounds okay. What do you guys think?"

"If it means being on the winning team, I'm all for it!" Iro grinned, adjusting the winter hat on his head.

"Um… Whatever you guys want." Honey smiled, obviously a little nervous about the game like Fumu was.

"Great! We should split up and build our forts!" Bun clasped his hands together. "Iro, Honey and I will be over there, and you guys can be over there!" Bun pointed at a nearby tree for his team, and then a large rock for Kirby's team.

"And please remember," Fumu sighed, looking at Kirby worriedly. "We're going to be playing safe. Shouldn't we have some rules?"

"It's just snow, Fumu, it ain't gonna hurt us." Iro said, crossing his arms.

"It _can_ hurt if thrown hard enough."

"Fumu, don't ruin the fun…"

"Playing safe can be fun, too!"

"Okay, how about this, no throwing snowballs at anyone's head. Is that good enough, Fumu?" Bun tapped his right foot, obviously growing impatient.

"...Fine…"

"Great! Now let's go build our forts!"

* * *

"You think you'll be okay, Kirby?" Fumu asked, putting the last finishing touches on their fort. It had been around an hour or so since their teams split up, and they were both almost done with the preparations.

"Poyo!" The pink child smiled reassuringly, rolling up another snowball with his paws. Hohhe taught him how to roll a snowball, and he was having a lot of fun making them.

"This will be fun, Fumu, lighten up a little!" Hohhe, who was helping Kirby make snowballs, said. "We don't ever get to do this sort of stuff, so we should enjoy it while we can!"

"I suppose…" The blonde sighed, smiling faintly.

"You guys almost ready?" Bun called from his fort, poking his head up from it.

"Yeah! Just gotta make a few more snowballs!" Hohhe responded, making up yet another snowball.

As both teams finished their forts and snowballs, the sky was becoming a little bit more cloudy, as Fumu noticed.

"It might snow again soon, if it gets too heavy, we should go home!"

"It'll be fine, we still have plenty of time." Hohhe chuckled, getting a snowball in both of his hands. "You ready, Kirby?"

"Poyo!" Kirby smiled wide, very eager for the snowball fight to begin.

"Can you even throw the balls far enough?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

Kirby nodded, waving his arms a bit. "Poyo, poyo!"

"Kirby can do a lot of things, I'm sure he'll be fine." Fumu chuckled at her teammates' enthusiasm, but she was still worried. She didn't want anyone to get hurt, after all, especially Kirby. Is having a snowball fight this large even a good idea?

She shook her head, frowning. _I need to lighten up. Like they said, it should be fun._

"Alright, are you guys ready, now?" Bun asked, holding a snowball in his hand and tossing it up and down.

"Yeah! Let's go!" Hohhe replied excitedly.

"Poyo!"

"Alright, we're gonna win! Whichever team gives in first is the loser!" Bun looked at his teammates, who looked excited as well. "Show no mercy!"

They both nodded, though Iro looked a lot more eager than Honey was.

"Alright, go!"

As soon as Bun gave the call for the fight to start, Hohhe immediately leaped from behind his team's fort, chucking snowballs at Iro and Honey, who made cries of shock and ducked, the balls sailing past them.

Bun smirked at the open target, throwing some snowballs at his friend. They all missed, however, as Hohhe dodged them with an unexpected grace.

Fumu looked down at Kirby, who was bouncing in excitement, cheering for their teammate. "Kirby, I have an idea. If snowballs get thrown at you, inhale them."

Kirby nodded and grinned, grabbing one snowball in his paws and charging forward, giving what was an adorable version of a battle cry.

"Get them, Kirby!" Hohhe cheered his teammate as he threw his one snowball at the opposing team. It sailed past Bun, but it hit Honey square in the chest, who squealed in surprise.

"He got me!" She cried nervously, looking at Iro. "I didn't think he could throw that far…"

Before Iro could respond, another snowball was thrown, this one by Hohhe, and it hit him in the left shoulder. "Hey! I wasn't looking!"

"Yeah? What are you gonna do about it?" Hohhe smirked, going back beside Fumu and grabbing more snowballs.

"I'll get you for that! Charge!" Iro grabbed some of his own and leaped from behind the fort, chucking them as hard as he could.

Fumu saw one heading towards her and she cried out, ducking as fast as she could, feeling the breeze of the ball whizz past her as it landed a couple feet behind her.

Kirby giggled with glee as the snowball fight grew more and more heated, taking great joy in seeing the balls of snow being thrown back and forth. The child was having a lot of fun, no doubt, but he was also an open target.

Bun took this opportunity and threw a snowball at Kirby, which hit him square in the face, covering his face in snow.

Kirby laughed again, his face stinging from the cold, but still smiling wide as he wiped the snow from his face. "Poyo!" He ran back to Fumu, dodging the snowballs being thrown at him.

"You okay, Kirby?" Fumu asked, still ducking into the safety of the fort.

"Poyo!" He cooed in response, waving his arms around excitedly.

"Incoming!" Hohhe cried, hopping into the fort as a barrel of snowballs came crashing towards them.

Kirby saw some snowballs heading towards them, so he ran forward and opened his mouth wide, inhaling and sucking them into his body. After he swallowed, he jumped into the air, feeling a chill as his body was enveloped in a light.

When the light faded, his pink body was fading to blue, an icicle-covered crown forming on his head as ice and snow swirled around him. He landed on the ground, eyes narrowed as he looked at his opponents, who looked very afraid for their lives now.

 _"_ _Ice Kirby?"_ Iro gulped nervously.

"Bun, w-what should we do?" Honey asked, a little shaken up from her nervousness.

"A silly hat won't prevent us from winning!" Bun declared, grabbing another snowball. "Get them!"

As the three threw their snowballs, Kirby slid out of the way of each one, skitting across the ground as if he were skating on ice. "Poyo!" He inhaled one of them, spitting it back at Bun's face, knocking him down.

"Yeah, get them, Kirby!" Fumu and Hohhe cheered from the fort.

Kirby smirked and began inhaling again, this time sucking in a huge pile of snow that was nearby. After inhaling a large amount, he held his breath for a few seconds before unleashing a huge load of snowballs at the opposing team, much to their shock.

Bun, Iro and Honey cried out and hid behind their fort, but it wasn't much use, as Kirby was able to shoot the balls of snow at them anyway. Within minutes, the team was half buried in the snow before Bun cried out:

"Okay, you win! Enough snowballs!"

Kirby immediately stopped, his gaze softening as he dropped his copy ability, which disappeared with a flash. They won?

"You did it, Kirby!" Fumu ran over to him, smiling wide in pride.

"Yeah, you kicked their butts!" Hohhe smirked and ruffled Kirby's head.

"I didn't know that snowballs would activate his copy ability…" Bun mumbled, slowly getting out of the pile of snow and wiping himself off. "That was awesome, though! I have to be on your team next time, Kirby!"

"Poyo!" Kirby cooed, his chest swelling with pride. It felt nice to win a game for a change!

Hohhe had walked up to Honey and Iro, helping them out of the snow. "You guys okay?" He asked them as they wiped themselves off.

"Y-yeah… I'm v-very cold, though…" Honey mumbled, shivering a bit.

"That was so cool, Kirby!" Iro said, shivering as well. "How you inhaled all that snow and made so many snowballs at once… I wish I could do that!"

"Poyo…" He looked up at Fumu curiously. "Poyo?"

"Hm? Oh, I was just wondering what we should do next." The blonde smiled at Kirby, patting his head gently.

"I had an idea," Bun piped in, walking over to stand beside his sister. "We could try sliding on the ice in the pond over there!"

"Ooh, that sounds fun!" Hohhe seemed all for that idea. "Ice skating sounds fun!"

"That's not a good idea." Fumu muttered, crossing her arms. "The ice is too thin. We could fall in and something bad could happen."

"No we wouldn't!" Bun protested, pouting. "The ice is plenty thick!"

"No it's not! The ice could very well be too thin to walk on!"

"Well, why don't we try to walk on it and find out?" Bun looked over at Kirby, pointing at him. "Kirby, try walking on the ice at the pond!"

"Poyo?" Kirby tilted his body, looking over at the sheet of ice nearby, beginning to walk towards it.

"No!" Fumu held Kirby back, giving Bun a glare. "No one is gonna walk on that ice! What if it breaks and he falls in? He could get hypothermia!"

"He'd be fine," Bun waved the warnings off. "Unless, you know, he's too much of a _coward_ to do it."

Kirby pouted at that word, huffing in annoyance. He was no coward! But he wanted to listen to Fumu, the ice could be dangerous!

"Kirby's _not_ a coward," Fumu muttered irritably, letting go of Kirby. "you wouldn't want to get hypothermia, it could kill you!"

"Who's to say that the ice is thin enough to do that, anyway?"

Fumu sighed, looking up at the sky. It was starting to snow, the clouds getting darker. "We shouldn't argue about that any more, we should head back home."

"Yeah, my mom wanted me home before it got too late in the afternoon…" Honey murmured. "A-and I'd rather not fall into the pond…"

"Maybe the ice will be thick enough in a few days, Bun," Hohhe added, smiling. "I'd love to try skating, but not if the ice is too thin."

Bun pouted, crossing his arms. "Fine…"

"Okay," Fumu looked down at Kirby. "We're gonna head home, Kirby. Think you can make it back okay? Do you want us to walk you home?"

Kirby shook his head, his lips twitching into a small smile. "Poyo." He had intended to walk to Kawasaki's to get a bite to eat, so he wasn't going in the same direction as them.

"Alright. Let's head back home before the snow gets any heavier." Fumu waved at Kirby as they all headed back. "Stay safe, Kirby!"

Kirby waved back as they walked away, humming to himself as he began to walk in his own direction. He wondered what food Kawasaki would have him try today?

As he walked, he looked over at the pond, a small curiosity making its way into him. He hadn't really tried skating before… was it fun? It sounded fun…

No, he shouldn't. Fumu said the ice was too thin… but was it, really?

Before he could think about it further, a harsh wind blew, his pale blue scarf flying off of him.

"Poyo!" Kirby cried out as it blew towards the pond, landing a little ways into the ice. His scarf… he had to get it back! Fumu made it for him! He ran towards the pond, stopping at the shore and looking at the ice nervously. It looked thick enough… The pond itself was rather large, though… He was sure that the ice was thinner where his scarf was…

But he needed to get the scarf back!

He gingerly stepped on the ice, his nervousness fading a bit when it didn't show any signs of being unable to take his weight. He took small steps towards his scarf, the icy cold wind nipping at his now exposed torso. The ice still showed no signs of breaking under his weight, which he was grateful for.

By the time he made it to his scarf, he was relieved that the ice hadn't caved in on him. He picked up the blue fabric, messily wrapping it around himself again and sighing in relief as his body warmed back up.

As he was walking back towards the shore, however, he didn't expect the ice to suddenly groan and shatter beneath his feet, sending him tumbling into the frozen water beneath.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's note: I must apologize for the long wait for this chapter. I actually have had about half of it written for a few months, now. However, I ran into both severe writers block and lots of personal family business going on during the holidays.**

 **Anyway, I hope you enjoy the next chapter! Honestly I'm not sure just how long this story will be, I'm thinking around one or two more chapters before I draw it to a close. Hopefully the next chapter won't take too long to write!**

 **EDIT 2/17/17: I edited this chapter, and added some details that build up to the next chapter. This story is not dead, I promise!**

* * *

"Just a few more minutes, you two."

"I-i-it's been a-almost h-half an hour, s-sir…"

"Y-yeah… don't you t-t-think it's been long enough, sir…?"

Meta Knight didn't respond, watching his knaves, Sword and Blade, writhe and shiver underneath the pile of snow they were in. Since today was such a cold day, colder than usual in Dreamland, he had decided that it was a good time to practice winter-themed training methods, including cold endurance.

"If we ever find that we need to endure the cold, practicing our endurance will ensure our survival better than if we had not trained." The knight explained once again to his students.

"'W-w-we…?' You're not under t-the snow, sir…" Sword mumbled, shaking violently.

"I will train myself in my own time. For now, I must train you two, and later, Kirby." He observed them silently for a few minutes longer, before nodding his head. "Okay, you've stayed there long enough." As his knaves groaned in relief and begun to make their way out of the snow, Meta Knight heard something faint in the distance. It was so subtle though, that he had decided to ignore it.

"O-oh sweet Nova, I-I'm so cold…" Blade choked out, his whole body shaking from the cold.

"You'll feel better once you start moving. Speaking of moving, here's your next exercise. I need you to run until you make it to the castle, then you will be dismissed."

They both groaned in protest, but stopped as soon as Meta Knight rose a hand, giving them an impatient look.

"Y-yes sir," They both said, immediately beginning to jog off towards the castle.

Meta Knight wrapped his cape back around himself, watching as his students ran off. _Those two… they still act like children sometimes._

Before he could follow them, he heard another noise, this time louder. It sounded like the children playing… a familiar flash of light briefly shone in the distance, which peaked his interest. That was Kirby's copy ability.

Meta Knight hummed to himself and made his way over towards the source of the light and noise. He found himself near a pond, where the children of the town were playing with Fumu, Bun and Kirby… They appeared to be having a snowball fight of sorts.

Kirby's skin had turned into a light blue, an icicle-covered crown formed on top of his head. He had transformed into Ice Kirby. Kirby had since inhaled a bunch of snow, which made Meta Knight wonder what the child was up to.

His question was answered when a huge load of snowballs came out of Kirby's mouth, barreling towards Bun and two of the children. His eyes turned pink and he chuckled with amusement as the children cried out and tried to protect themselves from the barrage of snowballs, only to fail.

 _He's getting better at controlling his copy abilities,_ he thought, his eyes fading to blue as a twinge pride swelled in his chest. _He's able to do more with them, better control the elements given to him. He really has grown a lot._

Bun had called for the fight to be over, and Kirby dropped his copy ability. As everyone congratulated the child on his victory, he looked to be swelling with pride.

Meta Knight felt his lips twitch into a small smile from underneath his mask. He knew that Kirby tended to be rather subpar when it came to the games that he played with the other children. Perhaps he would become better over time, with or without his copy abilities.

However, his amusement faded when the children had begun to talk about playing on the ice of the frozen pond nearby.

 _The ice is too thin,_ he thought to himself, frowning when Fumu had said the same thing he was thinking, talking about hypothermia and what a high risk it was for them to walk on the ice.

"Kirby, try walking on the ice on the pond!" Bun pointed at Kirby, who tilted his body in confusion.

Meta Knight's frown deepened. Bun was trying to get Kirby, a mere infant, to walk on that ice and risk falling in? He was contemplating on whether he should interfere or not, but decided not to. _Fumu is the voice of reason. She'll talk them out of it._

And that, she did. She prevented Kirby from walking on the pond, and scolded her younger brother for even suggesting the idea. Before the argument could get worse, Fumu had noticed that snow was beginning to fall, suggesting that they all head home.

It appeared that Kirby was not going to be going in the same direction as the other children. This seemed like a good opportunity for Meta Knight to catch him and start with their daily training. He waited until the other children were out of sight, and was about to step out from hiding, but a harsh wind blew, and he watched as Kirby's scarf flew off of him and landed a little ways into the pond.

The child looked distraught, very nervous about his scarf being on the ice, and for good reason. That ice is much too thin…

He hesitated, silently observing Kirby's slow movements as he stepped onto the ice, seeming to relax when it didn't shatter beneath his feet. Maybe he's light enough for it to not break.

Kirby eventually got his scarf back, wrapping it around himself again and shivering. Meta Knight tensed when he saw the ice shift very slightly, a few cracks forming silently around the child. _If he doesn't hurry up, he'll…!_

As the child was walking back towards the shore, the ice cracked even more, making a loud groaning noise before completely shattering around him, sending him into the freezing water.

Meta Knight thought his heart had stopped, watching Kirby for no longer than half a second before unwrapping himself of his cape and dashing towards the pond, Kirby's body slowly sinking beneath the surface.

When Kirby's body hit the water, the first thing he did was gasp loudly, which unfortunately, filled his lungs with the icy cold liquid instead of air. This made him convulse violently, letting out a loud, fearful scream, which sucked more air out of him. All he could feel was the cold, his body thrashing on its own as he desperately tried to get out of the water, which seemed to be sucking him into its icy cold depths.

He kept this up for what seemed like forever before he felt something grab him, dragging him out before he could sink much further. He coughed violently, hacking up the water and letting out disoriented cries as his breathing grew out of control. His body was trembling, his vision wavering as he stared at nothing, completely unaware of what was happening.

Meta Knight held the trembling child close, his wings beating against the cold air as he flew upwards. The fact that his student had nearly drowned and was suffering cold shock legitimately terrified him; he hadn't felt this in so many years, it almost felt completely new to him. But he pushed his fear aside, his protective instincts taking over. If he didn't hurry, Kirby could die!

He changed his direction once he was high enough to not be clearly spotted by anyone, angling his wings so he was gliding towards Castle Dedede. He had to get the child inside, where it was warm and safe, more so than his little dome house.

Kirby was still coughing violently, his shivering feeling almost like vibrating. The wind rushing past the two did not help with his temperature at all, but the knight didn't have a choice. The child's heart was pounding so hard and fast that he could feel it. What worried him most of all was how cold the child was.

 _I need to hurry, or he'll die!_

He made it back to the castle in record time, letting himself fall down towards the courtyard before flapping his wings once to soften the landing, quickly hiding them back in his cape as he made his way into the castle.

Kirby had stopped coughing at this point, his trembling growing less violent as his breathing grew faint and raspy. His overall complexion was incredibly pale and sickly.

When he slammed the door to his quarters open, he saw Sword and Blade jump out of their seats, heavily tense. When they saw that it was just Meta Knight, they relaxed slightly, still alarmed by his entrance.

"Meta Knight, you're back early…" Sword trailed off when he saw the frozen child in Meta Knight's arms, seeming to be taken aback by his condition. "S-sir, what happened-"

"No time to explain. Get that fire stronger now," He gestured towards the fireplace, which had a small fire going. He turned towards Blade, who looked confused more than anything. "Blade, get some blankets. Hurry!"

As the two knaves did their assigned tasks, Meta Knight looked down at Kirby, who was no longer trembling. "Kirby, child, can you hear me?" He asked gently, stroking the child's freezing cold cheek.

Kirby had opened his eyes halfway, wheezing weakly and not seeming to see his mentor, or anything for that matter. He made a very small, pitiful noise, closing his eyes again.

Despite his efforts to stay calm about the situation, Meta Knight couldn't help but feel his panic rising. He held Kirby close, trying to share his body heat with the child. He hadn't felt this much panic, this much... _care_ in so many years, the elder began to slightly question himself.

 _Do I care about Kirby more than I thought?_ The thought worried him, almost. He cared about the child, yes, but the speed of which he reacted, the amount of panic he felt, he hadn't been familiar with these foreign emotions in so long...

"Sir, the fire is bigger, now."

He looked over at Sword, nodding his head and walking over towards the fireplace, sitting himself down in front of it. It was very warm, exactly what Kirby needed. "Thank you, Sword."

Soon after Meta Knight had sat down, Blade came back into the room, a heavy, thick blanket in his arms. "Here you go sir."

"Thank you, Blade." Meta Knight quickly wrapped the blanket around Kirby, who was by now completely unconscious. "Sword, Blade. I need you to make sure that his majesty doesn't find out about Kirby's condition, do you understand?"

"Yes, sir." They both replied.

"You can count on us." Sword added.

"Thank you." He looked down at Kirby again, giving him a gentle squeeze. He was still breathing, that was good.

"...What happened to him, sir?" Blade asked after a few minutes of silence, his voice laced with concern.

"He was walking on thin ice and fell into a pond," He responded bluntly. "He wasn't in there longer than thirty seconds, I got him out as fast as I could."

"The kid's in pretty rough shape… will he be okay?"

"I don't know. All we can do is wait and pray that he will be okay." Meta Knight _hated_ saying that, he wanted to do more, give the child a higher chance at survival, but what he's done so far… it was all he could do until Kirby woke up… _if_ he woke up.

 _No. He'll wake up. Kirby is much stronger than this._

"Sir, is there anything else you want us to do?"

Meta Knight nodded, his gaze shifting over to the two. "I need you two to patrol the area, make sure Escargon and King Dedede stay away from here. If you find miss Fumu, let her know what has happened." He paused, stroking Kirby's cheek when he made a small noise. "...That will be all."

"Yes, sir."

As the two knaves left the room, Meta Knight noticed Kirby shift the slightest bit in his arms, making another weak, choked noise. He then began to shiver violently, which made the knight let out a sigh of relief, rubbing the child's back to help him warm up.

As Kirby slowly awoke, he eventually realized how cold he felt. His violent shivers did nothing to warm him at this point, and all he could do was hope he'd be at a more stable temperature soon.

Kirby's breathing was slowly speeding up to a normal rate after about half an hour of Meta Knight's gentle rubbing and care. He was regaining his strength fast, as he was now strong enough to start whining, albeit the noises being weak and shaky.

"Hush, child. It'll be alright," Meta Knight soothed, continuing to rub his student's back as he shivered.

Tears bubbled in the tot's eyes, his body starting to ache all over after a while. "Nnn…" He hiccuped, feeling very crummy as his body shook. He weakly shuffled closer to Meta Knight, pressing his tiny paws against his mentor's now warm mask and shivered some more.

Meta Knight sighed softly, feeling relieved at Kirby's slow recovery. But, he knew that his student would need at least a couple day's rest before he was back to normal and able to play outside again… if he even wanted him to.

* * *

"What?!" Fumu felt her heart drop to her stomach at the news of what had happened to Kirby. "He fell in?!"

"Shhh!" Sword hissed at her, reminding her that she had to keep it down.

Fumu swallowed thickly, slowly nodding her head. "S-sorry… is he going to be okay…?"

"Sir Meta Knight is taking care of him in our quarters right now. As long as Kirby's with him, he should hopefully make a smooth recovery." Blade replied.

"But what if he doesn't make it through the night? It's supposed to get very cold tonight…"

"As long as Kirby is with Sir Meta Knight, he won't go down without a fight."

"I hope you're right…" Her eyes trailed to the ground as she clasped her hands together behind her back. "He's just a child…"

"A very strong child, mind you."

Fumu felt her lips twitch into a small smile. "He's strong alright… thanks for letting me know what happened." She turned to walk away, waving at them. "I'll be sure to visit and make sure he's okay!"

"I'm sure Sir Meta Knight won't mind if you do!" Sword replied, nodding his head as Fumu walked away. He turned back towards Blade. "We should continue our patrol then, yes?"

Blade nodded, adjusting his sword on its hilt before following Sword down the hall.

* * *

"Kirby? Can you hear me?"

A soothing, familiar voice was the first thing Kirby heard when he regained consciousness. His mind was spinning, and he felt… very very cold. What happened?

The child opened his eyes halfway, looking around tiredly and trying to figure out where he was. He noticed he was by a fireplace, and was wrapped in a blanket, which helped with the cold, painful feeling that was assaulting his small body.

"Child, are you able to hear me?"

The voice, Kirby then recognized was his mentor, Meta Knight. He sounded genuinely concerned, which wasn't heard very often in his usually cool and calm tone of voice. Did something happen to make him worry?

"Poy…" Kirby let out a small noise to answer his mentor's question. He wasn't sure what was wrong, though. He just felt exhausted, and so _cold…_

"Kirby, do you remember what happened?"

He tried to recollect the events of the day, remembering the snowball fight with Bun and his friends… and how he had won thanks to his copy ability. But after that, he was drawing a blank. Something obviously happened, though… but what?

"Do you remember the snowball fight you had with your friends?"

Kirby nodded, smiling a bit at the fun memory. "Poyo." That was a lot of fun!

Meta Knight nodded his head, looking at the child with a slightly concerned tint in his eyes. "How about what happened afterwards?"

Kirby's smile quickly faded, and he shook his head, making the knight sigh. "Poy…?" Was his mentor upset with him for not remembering?

"Hm?" Meta Knight noticed Kirby's saddened face and let out a small chuckle. "Child, of course I'm not upset for you not remembering, it's to be expected. Typically people forget their traumatic experiences momentarily after they happen."

 _Traumatic?_ Was what happened to him that bad?

Meta Knight frowned deeply at the child's growing confusion. "Kirby, you are recovering from what they call hypothermia."

That word sounded familiar, Kirby blinked at his mentor. He then remembered faintly that Fumu had talked about it to him and Bun, saying how falling into cold water could cause-

Never had Kirby's mood swung so fast; from confusion, to realization and fear.

He remembered then; him losing his scarf, then him falling into the frozen pond trying to get it back… was he going to _die?_ Is that what's going on?

Meta Knight sighed softly when he saw the realization reach his student's face, noticing how scared he looked now. "Kirby…" his frown deepened when the child began to tremble, his bright blue eyes shining with tears. "Child, you're safe now. There's no need to cry."

Kirby felt the first few hot tears stream down his cheeks, hiccuping softly as the memories of the cold, dark water came sinking back into his mind. Why had he been so _stupid?_ He was warned about the water, and went in anyway! How foolish! Why hadn't he asked someone for help to get his scarf back? Surely someone who can fly would've helped him! _Even he can fly!_ Why hadn't he thought of that…?

Meta Knight wasn't sure how to calm the scared child down, all he could do is place a gentle hand on the tot's head and rub it gently, though he tensed a bit when he noticed how warm it was. Was he developing a fever, now?

Kirby continued to cry softly, too weakened to really make much noise outside of a few pitiful whimpers and hiccups. Meta Knight must be disappointed in him! The last thing Kirby ever wanted to do was to upset anyone, let alone his teacher! His friend! His…

"Kirby, child, please calm down… none of what happened was your fault, if that's what you're thinking." Meta Knight went closer to his student and rubbed his shaking back, now uncovered from the blanket.

Kirby looked up, his face red from his crying as a few stray tears fell from his puffy, glazed eyes. "Poy…?"

Meta Knight sighed gently and pat the child's head. "Accidents happen, Kirby… even if they're life-threatening. There's no need to cry."

Kirby nodded, sniffling gently as he tried to calm himself down. He was so cold… his whole body was shaking like a leaf at this point.

"Here, let me help you." Meta Knight normally didn't let himself get so close and personal with his student, but this situation would have to be an exception. He helped Kirby get his blanket wrapped back around himself, noticing that the little energy the child had was faded. He wasn't moving at all and his eyes were half closed, as if he were in a half-asleep state. "Do you want to stay in here, or sleep on a bed?"

Kirby opened his eyes drowsily, his exhaustion preventing him from answering. He honestly didn't care where he slept, as long as he wasn't cold or alone. Without making a single peep, he closed his eyes again and felt himself drift to sleep.

Meta Knight let out a small breath of relief that the child had finally calmed down enough to sleep. He had decided to have Kirby sleep in his own bed, as it was the most comfortable in the quarters, at least in his personal opinion.

Before he could pick the child up to bring him to bed, a soft knock on his door made him turn towards it. The knocking was too gentle to be King Dedede or Escargon, so he assumed it was Fumu.

"Come in."

Sure enough, the young blonde opened the door and poked her head inside, a worried look on her face. "I heard what happened, is he okay?"

Meta Knight lifted his hand and shushed her gently. "Yes, but he's asleep."

Fumu looked at Kirby with at concerned gaze and walked into the room. "Has he woken up, yet?" She asked softly.

"Yes, I was able to let him know what had happened, he didn't seem to be happy about it."

"I wouldn't be happy if I fell into a frozen pond either," Fumu frowned a bit. "Has he recovered any?"

"He's survived the cold shock, and his body temperature is going back up." Meta Knight replied. "Though I fear that the change in temperature was too quick, I think he's developing a fever."

"Oh… that will go away, I hope?"

"Hopefully. But given his… situation, I don't think he'll want to be near anything cold or wet for a while, so I'm unsure how I'll get the fever to go down if it gets too high." Meta Knight looked up at her, noticing her extreme worry. "I wouldn't worry too much, miss Fumu. As long as he's here, I will make sure he gets well."

"I know, I just hope that he doesn't take up too much of your time… what if Dedede finds out you haven't been doing your duties?"

"My duties are, to be frank, the least of my concern. But you have a point." He shifted his gaze down to the sleeping form of Kirby, his eyes turning a deep green. he paused before speaking again. "Perhaps it would be best if I watched him throughout the night, and perhaps have Sword and Blade take over while I do my regular daily duties."

"Don't you need rest though?" Fumu asked, putting a hand on her cheek. "I'd imagine this will be rough on you…"

"I will be fine; I've gone long stretches of time without rest, this won't be any different. I don't want you staying up to take care of him, you're young and you need more rest than I do."

"Okay… if you're sure," Fumu nodded politely. "Please take care of him, it's supposed to get really cold tonight… and you know how Dedede is with his heating system and bills…"

Meta Knight couldn't help but let out a small chuckle at her remark. It was true; Dedede was reluctant on heating the castle properly, as it would put as big dent in his riches. "Indeed. But, I can assure you that Kirby will be fine under my watch."

"Okay. Thank you for saving him, Sir Meta Knight." Fumu nodded and turned back towards the door. "If you need any help, my family and I would be happy to…"

"Thank you for the offer. Stay warm, tonight."

"You, too. Tell Kirby that I hope he feels better soon, please." She gave the knight a small smile and one last concerned gaze at Kirby before exiting the room and gently closing the door behind her.

Meta Knight looked down at Kirby, who was still out like a light, and let out a sigh as he picked the child up. He silently walked into his dark room, leaving the door open for light as he set him down on his bed, next to one of the few pillows he had neatly stacked.

Kirby moaned softly in his sleep, seeming to like the comfort of the bed. He let out a small whine as he got comfortable, shivering a bit before going completely still again.

Looking out the window, Meta Knight noticed that the sun had long since gone down. He then left the room for a moment to grab a chair, setting it beside his bed and sitting down in it with a sigh.

It was going to be a long night, that was for sure.


End file.
